August 22 – 25, 2010
(Sunday noon through Wednesday afternoon)
Have you dreamed about building an enchanting woodland retreat or a charming backyard garden shed? Creating something beautiful with hand tools and found materials? And along the way, learning to tell the difference between a Robertson and a Phillips screwdriver? If so, then this course is for you. This hands-on workshop will give you the opportunity to learn about the ancient building technique of cordwood masonry and hone up on some basic carpentry skills in the process. No prior building or carpentry experience is required to take part in this workshop. Just come with a sense of adventure and we will teach you everything you need to know!
After lunch on Sunday, we will spend the afternoon exploring different styles of cordwood construction: stackwall, round (or octagonal or hexagonal) buildings, and cordwood as infill for post-and-beam structures. We will talk about different types of mortar and we will view examples of cordwood buildings. We will also spend time discussing the advantages of using a living roof on cordwood and other types of buildings as we tour the Wintergreen property where there are already four cordwood buildings in place: the Hobbit House, the Smoke House, the Sauna, and the Root Cellar. The extraordinary skill and experience of Rob and Jaki Roy, master cordwood builders, will form a focus for the first afternoon as well, and we will become familiar with the print and video resources they offer. If the group is eager to get started, we may even mix a batch or two of mortar and start working on the new cordwood cabin close to the Wintergreen lodge before we break for dinner.
On the following morning, will start to build in earnest, mixing mortar, building walls, and insulating the cordwood with sawdust and lime. We will continue with the building process on Tuesday, incorporating coloured glass into the building design, and framing in a door and some windows.
On the final day of the workshop, if all has gone well, we will begin the living roof assembly for the cordwood cabin, getting everyone involved in raising the roof. By the end of the workshop, you will have an excellent introduction to cordwood masonry, and with the experience and resources you will have acquired at Wintergreen, you should be ready to begin building on your own.
The Instructors
CJ Dalton is an experienced carpenter and expert renovation and restoration builder who also dabbles in small electrical and plumbing repairs, as well as ceramic tiling. She has worked with various contractors and also established her own construction/renovation business. She is currently a graduate student in Education at Queen’s University. CJ has led many lives – she once owned and operated a bed-and-breakfast, has created and sold wooden folk art, spent many years as a counsellor to individuals with hearing loss, and is a certified school teacher.
Rena Upitis is a mixed media artist, musician, teacher, and timber frame carpenter. She has an abiding interest in sustainable architecture and has built several small cedar cordwood buildings with the help of friends and family. Her design for the Wintergreen lodge uses strawbale and a living roof. Rena studied with Rob and Jaki Roy at the Earthwood Building School in the summer of 2006, and returned back to Wintergreen and promptly built the Hobbit House, one of four cordwood structures on the land.
The materials for this workshop are sponsored in part by The Home Depot Canada Foundation. Established in 2008 as a private, Canadian charitable organization, The Home Depot Canada Foundation is dedicated to using their skills, knowledge and resources to develop sustainable homes and communities for Canadians. As part of the Home Depot’s commitment to creating vibrant, environmentally responsible communities for Canadians, they offer the Home Depot Canada Foundation Community Grant Program, for which Wintergreen Studios is pleased to be a recipient. This program provides funding to Canadian registered charities and other tax exempt entities completing neigbourhood improvement projects that emphasize sustainability. The Home Depot Canada Foundation also values the importance of volunteerism, and where possible, offers hands-on service through Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force to make the community projects we support a success.
Tuition: $180, plus $25 for materials for those participants undertaking individual carpentry projects. Special rate for couples: Tuition $220.
Accommodation, all meals, and use of facilities for the duration of the workshop: $275 (tenting p.p.), $325 (bunks p.p.), $360 (shared rooms or cabins, p.p.), $400 (double bed, single occupancy), $525 (double bed, shared). Meals and facilities only $225 p.p. HST extra.
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